Wildlife protection plea for Cornish bay

A wildlife trust has called for a Cornish bay to be turned into a Marine Protected Area (MPA).

The Seal Research Trust said the move would help protect wildlife in St Ives Bay after it reported a drop in the number of seals and dolphins feeding offshore.

Trust director Sue Sayer said she believed the number had fallen in the bay as a knock-on effect from the use of boats with ring nets to catch fish such as sardines.

Cornish Sardine Management Association chairman Gus Caslake said the use of ring nets, used to encircle large numbers of fish, was sustainable and those using the method were doing nothing wrong.

The government said the UK was at the "forefront of marine protection".

MPAs are issued by the government and managed by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to protect habitats and support marine ecosystems.

Wildlife volunteers monitor spots around the bay for dolphins and seals.

Ms Sayer said since ring netting boats had left the bay earlier this month, the number of seals had dropped from about 250 to 150 and dolphin sightings had not been reported.

"Having a conservation zone or a protected area of some kind of description in the bay would be supremely helpful," she said.

Some fishermen have also backed the idea of St Ives Bay becoming an MPA.

Matt Spencer, a handline fisherman based in St Ives, said: "You take away the smaller fish, then the other fish aren't going to come in here."

He added "it would be nice" to have a "conservation area for handline fishing and a few [lobster and crab] pots and stuff like that".

Mr Caslake said the boats with ring nets were allowed under their licences to fish right up to the shores of Cornwall.

"The stock is there and we've been fishing for sardines for centuries, so it's a very sustainable method of catching sardines," he said.

A Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said the UK was at the "forefront of marine protection" with just over 38% of UK waters protected.

"We continue to work closely with the MMO to implement byelaws to manage fishing activity in English waters," they added.

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